Digital Intelligence: A New Way of Knowing - Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments - page 61

Figure 1. Relationship among intelligence, knowl-
edge, and ways of knowing

Ways of knowing

The modes of knowing or 'ways of knowing' en-
deavor to describe the human process of internal-
izing knowledge. Eisner, in his preface to Learn-
ing and Teaching the Ways of Knowing (1985),
described his editing assumptions: “Since contexts
change, the capacities of mind themselves alter.
The roads to knowledge are many. Knowledge is
not defined by any single system of thought, but
is diverse. What people know is expressed in the
cultural resources present in all cultures” (p. xi).
Included as topics in this collection of modes of
knowing are: aesthetic ways of knowing, scientific
ways of knowing, interpersonal ways of knowing,
narrative, formal, practical and spiritual ways of
knowing.
The question of what knowledge is most worthy
of knowing and by which mode of knowing this
knowledge is to be internalized is often cultural
but is ultimately a personal decision. Knowledge
and the 'ways of knowing' work together to create
what we refer to as intelligence or intellectual style.

knowledge

Knowledge can very broadly be defined as what
we know or believe to exist. Many conceptions of
the organization of knowledge exist. “The task of
demarcating kinds of knowledge is not unlike that
of demarcating different territories on a map. As
there are different kinds of maps of territory, so
there are different kinds of maps of knowledge”
(Schrag, 1992, p. 268-301). Machlup, in the first
volume of his proposed eight volume set entitled
Knowledge: Its Creation, Distribution, and Eco-
nomic Significance (1980), created a classification
for the types of knowledge by grouping what we
are able to know into discrete categories such
as mundane knowledge, scientific knowledge,
humanistic knowledge, social-science knowledge
and artistic knowledge. A discussion of the many
knowledge classification systems is beyond the
scope of this article. Machlup's classification is
mentioned to illustrate one conception of knowl-
edge as 'what we know'.

Intelligence

Intelligence, as defined by Howard Gardner is “the
ability to solve problems or fashion products that
are of consequence in a particular cultural setting
or community” (1993, p. 15). More simply put, it
is the ability of an individual to use knowledge in
a personal way to successfully interact with their
environment. Gardner's definition of intelligence
differs somewhat from the widely held notion that
intelligence is a direct measure of knowledge.
Intelligence becomes a measure of enculturation,
combining knowledge and the ways of knowing
with the ability to interact effectively in a cultural
or community setting.